My Headband!
by Troublesome Writer
Summary: Ever wonder what would happen if Naruto's precious headband got broken? Read and find out.
1. It's GONE!

_**My Headband!**_

(this is before the Chunin Exams)

It was just your average day in the Konoha Village.

People were rushing to work, ninjas were on missions, and soon-to-be ninjas were at the Academy.

Today was Iruka's day off from teaching and missions and so forth.

Coincidentally, it was also Team 7's day off from training and missions.

So Naruto and Iruka both decided to eat at Ichiraku's together like they always do.

When they went to Ichiraku's, Iruka noticed something strange about Naruto.

_Naruto seems…different today. Could it be his attitude?_

"HI IRUKA SENSEEEEEIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Naruto shouted even though he was right in front of Iruka.

"Hey Naruto." Iruka said with a warm smile.

_No that's not it. He's still as optimistic as ever! But if that's not it then what is it? Could it be his clothes?_

Iruka looked him up and down from his sandals to the top part of his jacket.

_That's not it either. He's still wearing his usual outfit. Orange jacket and everything. Maybe I should just let this go and enjoy my miso pork ramen while it's ho-_

Iruka couldn't finish his thoughts. He was too distracted by the fact that he could see Naruto's forehead. Yes, that's right. His headband is not where it's supposed to be. On his HEAD. He just stared wide-eyed at Naruto who looked completely clueless.

"Huh? Iruka sensei? Are you ok?" Naruto asked with a puzzled look.

_His headband…_

"Iruka sensei?"

…_His headband…_

"Iruka sensei?"

…_is GONE!_

"**IRUKA SENSEI!!!!" **Naruto yelled with impatience.

Iruka snapped out of his thoughts about his discovery.

"Gomen, Naruto. What is it?" Iruka said, a little embarrassed by his actions.

"Geez, Iruka sensei. I never thought you would be one to space out like that. Well, I asked if you were ok and why were you looking at me like that?"

"Oh. I'm ok. Don't worry about me." Iruka answered, trying to avoid the second question.

_Maybe he won't notice. I mean, he-_

"And why were you looking at me like that?"

_-got smarter._

Iruka mentally sighed.

He shifted his eyes from one thing to another, trying to find a satisfying answer for Naruto without mentioning the headband. Then, he noticed Naruto's ramen bowl…it was full. He barely touched it and what was weirder was that it was Naruto's first bowl!

Iruka hesitantly said, "Oh…THAT. Uumm…I was looking at you like that because I noticed you are still on your first bowl of ramen and you barely ate any of it."

"Oh, is that all? Don't scare me like that, Iruka sensei. I just already ate 23 bowls of instant ramen this morning. I beat my own record by 6! So I guess I'm not that hungry."

_Whew. He bought it._

Iruka mentally sighed with relief.

"Iruka sensei, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go ahead and train."

"Train? Oh. Yea. Sure! Go on and train until your little lungs give out." And with that, Naruto left.

_Now to figure out why he doesn't have his headband on. But first, I should observe him from a distance and see what he does with it or what happened to it._

"Uum sir? You forgot to pay," the guy who worked there said.

"Oh Gomenasai. I forgot. How much?" Iruka asked.

"Hmmmm…how much is 12 bowls of ramen worth?" asked the person who worked there.

"What?! TWELVE BOWLS?! We only ate two-

Iruka couldn't finish his statement for there was a tall stack of bowls next to Iruka where Naruto sat. Apparently, Naruto ate while Iruka was deep in thought.

_He ate ten more bowls yet he ate 23 this morning?! Five minutes ago he was still on his first bowl of ramen! If eating was required as a ninja skill then Naruto would be Hokage by now! Oh, well. I better just pay and get back to my observations. But next time Naruto's paying._


	2. In three whole minutes

The sun is just about to rise to begin another ordinary day in the Konoha Village.

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and our little Naruto is still sound asleep.

Yup, everything seems to be where it should be. Or is it?

Little does Naruto know that there is someone watching him, up in the trees.

"Naruto…where have you been keeping it?" Iruka said to himself.

"Keeping what?"

"His headba-AAAH!"

"Shhhh…do you want Naruto to wake up?"

"Kakashi! What brings you here? In this tree? At Naruto's house?" Iruka asked nervously thinking that this will ruin everything.

"Oh I was just taking a stroll around Konoha while reading my favorite novel (Iruka sweat dropped at this) and I saw the most interesting thing. And that would be you stalking Naruto so I decided to drop in. What are YOU doing here Iruka, besides stalking?"

"I am NOT STALKING! I am merely observing. A **complete** difference." Iruka's vein throbbed with annoyance at his statement.

"Ok, ok, Iruka. WhatEVER you say. So like I was saying, why are you here?"

Iruka was shifting his eyes from one thing to another. Nervously trying to find a way out so his plans won't be disturbed.

_What to say? What to say? I might never be able to find out why Naruto isn't wearing it if my future actions are discovered._

"Uuhhmm…that's a _good _question, Kakashi. Aaand here's a better one." Iruka finally thought of something.

Kakashi waited patiently for his question/answer.

"Can't a person's former teacher visit that said person every once in a while?" Iruka said slyly.

"While he's asleep?" Kakashi seems to be interrogating him.

_He's got a point._

"Uuumm he looks so peaceful? I mean look at him. It's not everyday you'll see Naruto being so calm and serene right?" explained Iruka.

_Nice one, Iruka. Now Kakashi won't possibly think I'm lying. That answer was foolproo-_

Just then, a loud snore was heard all through Konoha causing the birds to fly away and the people to wake up. Except for Naruto that is because, obviously, he's where the snore came from.

"Serene?" Kakashi was not buying it.

"Ehehehe…" Iruka ran out of ideas.

_I spoke too soon._

"You're looking for his headband aren't you?" Kakashi said as if it were so obvious.

_He knew all along? That Kakashi…_

"Pretty much…" Iruka sighed in defeat.

"So did you see or find anything?" Kakashi asked.

"Not yet. Just Naruto talking in his sleep," answered Iruka.

"Oh? What about?" Kakashi asked with interest.

"Just your usual Naruto kind of stuff. Ramen, Sakura, being Hokage, and of course the famous "believe it" phrase at the end," informed Iruka.

"Figures. Oh, Iruka, I forgot to tell you…" Kakashi began

"Tell me what?" Iruka asked with curiosity.

"Oh, it's nothing important! Just forget about it! Well I gotta go. Big sale going on at the book store. Good luck!" Kakashi quickly said as he ended it with a poof to the book store.

_I wonder what he had to tell me…_

Iruka shrugged and continued his observations.

_Now to find where he's hiding it. Ack! He's waking up! Better camouflage myself!_

Yawn "…hungry…" Naruto sleepily said.

He grabbed an instant ramen cup in the pantry, opened it, and put some hot water in it.

"Great. Now I have to wait. Why is it called INSTANT ramen when you have to wait three** whole _MINUTES_**!" Naruto complained like he does everytime he makes instant ramen.

_sigh Typical Naruto. He can be so predictable._

Two minutes and thirty seconds left

"Huh? What's that? A bird? And it's staring at me."

_GAH! I've been spotted! Oh yea, that's right. I'm a bird. Better make this look convincing._

"Chirp, chirp, chirp. Tweet, tweet, TWEET!" Iruka attempted to sing like your average bird, but ultimately failing. Lucky for him, it's Naruto he's trying to convince.

"Weird bird. Probably wants my ramen. Well too bad it's mine, birdy! Even if I DO have to wait three minutes," pouted Naruto.

Two minutes left

_Whew, he bought it. Now to just sit back an-Hey what's that noise? Who's there?_

Then out came a bird the size of your foot (size 8). He was eying Iruka in a weird way. And yes. He was a HE and oddly, he was checking Iruka out. He came closer and was trying to get "friendly" with Iruka if you know what I mean.

_AACK! What is this bird doing?! Here I am trying to stalk-I mean OBSERVE Naruto and all of the sudden this bird tries to make a move on me! Ugh. MEN. Wait, _I'm_ a man. _O.O_ What I meant to say was Ugh, BIRD men. **Diisgusting. **They have no respect whatsoever for us-I mean for the women birds. _

One minute and thirty seconds left

"Three minutes is longer than it used to be. Maybe my clock's broken." Naruto looked at his ramen then the clock and back and forth.

Naruto looked back at the window and this time, he saw the same bird and a much bigger one bothering it.

"Heh. It looks like that bird is trying to be "friends" with that other bird. Good luck. He's gonna need it." Naruto looked back at his ramen and then at his clock.

One minute left

_That's it! I'm gonna give this bird a big piece of my mind!_

Naruto looked back at the window to see how our male bird is doing and what he saw made him laugh. He saw a beaten up looking bird laying flat on its back and a triumphant looking one on the beat up bird.

"Hehe…he tried, but failed. Don't worry, bird, you're not alone. I feel your pain. Geez, Sakura-chan can punch." Naruto rubbed the swollen lump on his head that was given from Sakura for attempting to peek through her skylight window in her bathroom while she was taking a shower.

_Hehehe that oughtta teach that bird some manners and respect. Oh, I almost forgot about Naruto! Did I miss anything?_

He looked at Naruto staring grumpily at the ramen and then the clock and back to the ramen.

_Nope._

Thirty seconds left

"GGAAAH!! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!! I'm **hungry!!** I'm eating you and I'm eating you NOW whether you like it not! You got that RAMEN?!!" Naruto yelled while accusingly pointing a finger at the ramen as if it was the cause of his hunger.

**THUMP …**_POOF_

"Wha wa vat? Ib pownbid wyke ib kame fwom ow zide," Naruto said with his mouth full of undone ramen noodles. So here's the translation: "What was that? It sounded like it came from outside." He quickly swallowed the noodles and headed towards the door.

Right on the ground, next to the tree, was the cause of the noise. And that would be Iruka. The thing is Iruka didn't expect a very impatient Naruto to suddenly shout at the ramen. So the shocked bird lost its balance, fell, landed on the hard ground, and poofed back to his normal self. He couldn't fly because he didn't know how seeing he doesn't transform into birds very often.

Iruka was on the ground with dizziness in his eyes and imaginary birds flying in circles above his head like vultures.

"Ehehehe. Tweet tweet. Chirp chirp." Iruka said, well, chirped.

"Iruka sensei? What are you doing here? On the ground? And are you drunk?" Naruto asked.

Iruka recovered quickly and stood up with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Hehe don't worry Naruto I'm not drunk I just…TRIPPED. That's all. Yea that's what I did. And I'm here to treat you to ramen, but silly me, I forgot my wallet." Iruka laughed nervously.

"O…K. Guess what Iruka sensei? You'll never believe what happened outside my window today! There was this bir-"

"Sorry Naruto I gotta…uuhh go to the Academy!! I'll see you later!!!" Iruka yelled as he zoomed to who knows where leaving a confused Naruto behind.

"But the Academy is the other way. Oh, well. Back to my RAMEN!" Naruto said to no one in particular as he went back inside.

Back with Iruka

_That was definitely a close one. I should be more careful next time. If there IS a next time. I had to deal with Kakashi, a disrespectful bird, and I gained a bruise as big as that bird on my rear. I went through all of that just to find nothing. I have a keen eye but it still wasn't enough to see or find that headband. So since I couldn't find it then I'll have to make sure Naruto does without trying to find it. Let's see if Naruto really does care about that headband. But until then, I need an icepack for my throbbing butt._

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(A/N):Hi peoples. Sorry that it's taking so long to get to the broken headband part. **

**Hope this chapter was a good one though.**

**Well I can PROMISE you that the broken headband will come in the next chapter…maybe. MOST LIKELY. **

**I realize there are probably some confusing parts in the story like the fact Naruto's headband is no where in sight and how Kakashi was about to tell Iruka about something but didn't.**

**Don't worry about those. **

**You'll find those out in future chapters.**


	3. Too much drama

Once again, it's another ordinary day in the Konoha Village. Or so it seems.

Naruto is just about waking up and he was about to go to his pantry for his instant ramen until something shiny caught his eye.

"_Yawn_…ramen…huh? What's that?"

Naruto walked up to the source of the light and found a headband. Not just any headband. HIS headband.

"…my…headband? …oh…WHAT?!!" It took a while for Naruto's brain to sink in what just happened.

Naruto swiftly picked it up and said (more like screamed), "**WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE-**whoa**, whoa, AAACK!!**"

It seems that the metal part of the headband was slick with grease and that caused Naruto to drop it which caused the headband to have a huge crack in the middle of it.

_All according to plan, but why isn't he saying anything? _

". . ." Once again it's taking a while for Naruto's brain to sink in what had happened. Right now he's staring at it, but mostly the crack.

_I expected a big reaction._

". . ." Just give him a minute.

_Does it mean that little to him?_

". . ." Be patient.

_Still. NOTHING._

". . ." Here it comes.

_Maybe I_ _should just tell him. This isn't getting anywhere._

"…_blink_…**WHAAT??!!! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BREAK!! YOU'RE NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!! HOW THE HECK DID THIS HAPPEN?!!**"

_Never mind._

Naruto was pacing the floor back and forth thinking of a plan while practically ripping his hair off his head.

_Wow. Naruto's taking this harder than I thought or even hoped to think. _

"What should I do? What COULD I do? What WOULD I do? Gggrrr…HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW??!! What would Iruka sens-_GASP_…Iruka sensei…what will HE say? Or…what will he DO? I don't have time for this!!"

_If only he knew._

He gingerly picked up the headband by its cloth, making sure he doesn't even touch the metal, and after that, he ran. Fast.

_Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Oh well, time to follow Naruto. Lets see how far Naruto's willing to go to get that headband fixed._

* * *

_Naruto's gotten faster! I could hardly keep up. Where DOES he get this much energy?_

(Naruto was running around Konoha, panicking, while saying this) "If Iruka sensei finds out, he'll have my head for sure!! I can't let him know!! I don't know what to do!! I need some help. Maybe I should ask Iruka sens-no, wait, he's the one I'm avoiding right now! I can't go to him! I'll just have to go to someone else for help. Hhmmm…what about…Kakashi sensei? Yea, he'll know what to do!"

_I don't think he'll be much help._

Then, Naruto searched for Kakashi and stopped running when he spotted him leaning on a tree. He took a closer look and saw that Kakashi was reading a book and he was…giggling? It was one of those creepy, perverted giggles. Naruto took another closer look and saw that he was reading one of his Make-Out Paradise books.

_Told you so._

"Eh, never mind. Kakashi sensei looks busy. I'll go to Sasuke instead!!"

_Sasuke? Since when did he go to Sasuke for help?_

"On second thought, nah. What was I thinking? SASUKE?! I must be losing it!"

_Now THAT sounds more like the Naruto I know._

"Hhhmmm…who should I go to now? I KNOW!! I'll go to Sakura-chan for help!! Yea!! She'll definitely help me!" Naruto exclaimed with triumph.

_Good luck. He's gonna need it._

So then he ran for the search of his dear teammate, Sakura, for helpful advice.

"Huh? Naruto?" Sakura saw him about a good twenty feet away from her, panting heavily and jogging ever so slowly, you'd think he was in slow motion.

"Sa…kur…a…chan…need…help," Naruto wheezed between breaths and practically passed out.

Sakura caught him and laid him on the ground because he was too sweaty and gross. Running all around Konoha for a good half an hour on a nice, sunny day in a jacket would do that to you.

"What did you do THIS time Naruto?" Sakura asked not really worrying or caring.

Making this more dramatic than it needs to be, Naruto said, "Sakura-chan I need you to do something before I…_go_."

_Of course. Naruto HAS to make this a bigger deal than it actually is. _

Sakura just rolled her eyes, but listened.

"I…need…you…to-

"JUST GET ON WITH IT!!" Sakura cut him off. Her impatience rising at his childish behavior.

"OK, OK! Anyway, I need…you…to…"

There was a slight pause Naruto was making for more dramatic effect.

"…to…tell me... what I should... do about…THIS!" Naruto practically shoved the cracked headband in her face and he looked away while doing so, almost shamefully.

"That's it? You made me go through all of that…for this?" Sakura's vein was throbbing on her forehead in annoyance.

"Wa-wait, Sakura-chan. There's more to this headband than you would think. It's really important to me and you're the only one I can go to for help. PLEEASE SAKURA-CHAAN! You're my last hope!!" Naruto said, while adding drama to it yet again.

_So it IS important to him. And to think that I doubted his feelings toward that headband. That Naruto probably cares more about that headband than I ever did. Maybe I should stop this to prevent Naruto from causing his usual mayhem...later. I want to see how he handles this situation._

"Wait. Wasn't your headband supposed to be-"

"Yea, I know, I know. It WAS, but it SOMEHOW managed to end up in my room again. Well anyway, are you going to help me or not? Please, Sakura-chan, I'll do anything! Well…maybe not ANYTHING, but……just help me PLEASE??!" Naruto clung to her leg so she wouldn't leave him in his time of need…again.

_He is really desperate, isn't he?_

"Naruto, let go! People are staring." She tried shaking him off, but no good. His grip only tightened.

"PLEEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, **PLEEEEEEEAASE?!**"

_Poor Sakura. I feel guilty to have to make her go through this. I know how...irritating Naruto can be sometimes. Actually, most of the time, but she'll get used to it._

"Ugh, ok just…let go already! I'll give you some advice." Sakura was defeated, but you would be too if Naruto held on to your leg like a lost, frightened child.

"**YEA!! WOOO! SAKURA-CHAN'S GONNA HELP ME!**" Naruto shouted as if it were the best day of his life.

"Shut up, Naruto! People are starting to stare again!"

"Oh, Gomen, Sakura-chan. Anyway, what do you think I should do? I can't tell Iruka sensei. He'll get mad. And you won't like him when he's mad." Naruto shuddered at the sudden flashbacks of Iruka's anger.

_Hehe...good times._

"Why don't you just get a new one?" Sakura suggested as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

_That's a simple solution to anyone and everyone except for Naruto and I. He'll never buy new one._

Naruto's jaw dropped immediately at the suggestion. He was appalled at the mere mentioning of getting a new headband. "Get a NEW ONE?!! Sakura are you feeling well? I don't think you know what you're saying." Apparently, that was out of the question.

_Like I said, NEVER._

"I'm fine, Naruto. It was only a suggestion. Why don't you try and fix it?" Sakura suggested once more.

"Fix it? That's GENIUS!! Why didn't I think of that?"

_Yea, Naruto. Why DIDN'T you think of that?_

"Because you're an idiot," Sakura commented.

_Not what I had in mind, but everyone has their own opinion, I suppose._

"Haha!! That's a GOOD one Sakura-chan!! We **both** know THAT role is taken."

_It is?_

"By who?" Sakura had no idea who he was talking about.

_He's probably gonna say-_

"Sasuke-teme of course!! Who else could it be? Well, I'd like to talk more about how much of an idiot the teme is, but I gotta get this headband fixed and fast. BYE SAKURA-CHAN!!! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!"

_Typical._

"Baka." Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed in irritation as Naruto ran off somewhere.

_How's he gonna fix it? I'll find out soon enough. If I knew Naruto, which I do, I would say he would, first, try to fix it himself. This should be interesting._

* * *

**(A/N): I bet you're wondering how Naruto's gonna fix it, aren't you?**

**Well, you're gonna have to be patient.**

**And if you haven't already figured it out by now, which you really should have because it was obvious, most of the italics were Iruka.**

**Oh, and by the way, sorry it took so long updating this chapter. I got some writer's blockage and plus school. Not to mention a big sister who uses the computer most of the time.**

**_Sigh. _Siblings. What are we going to do with them?**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!! If you don't I don't blame you. I think my previous chapter was way better than this one. I'll try my best to make the next chappy better. BELIEVE IT!**


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